Kerala Assembly Election Dates: The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for polling of the Kerala State Assembly on Friday. The announcement of the poll schedule on Friday has warmed up the traditional rival fronts in Kerala, who all claim they are well on the course of winning the Assembly polls.
For the 140 Assembly seats in Kerala, the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Front would hope to create an electoral record by becoming the first government in the state to retain power back-to-back after the swept the municipal polls in December 2020.
POLL SCHEDULE
Polling Date: April 6
Counting of Votes & Result: May 2
Former Defence Minister and three-time Kerala Chief Minister A.K. Antony, who is all set to arrive in Kerala from Delhi as the star campaigner for the UDF, expressed confidence that in May, this year, it would be the UDF government which will be sworn in, reported IANS.
On the other hand, State Congress chief Mullapally Ramachandran has alleged that a secret pact has been sealed between the CPI (M) and the BJP in Kerala on 10 assembly seats. "Our list of candidates will be released very soon and we are extremely confident that we will win," said Ramachandran.
The BJP-led NDA currently has only one seat at present and its senior leader M.T. Ramesh is confident that the saffron party will be making major headways in the polls.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led UDF had a resounding victory, bagging 19 out of the 20 seats, and captured a vote share of 47.48 per cent. While the ruling Left won just one seat with a vote share of 36.29 per cent, the BJP could not open its account but managed to secure 15.64 per cent votes.